Chapter 81 Pulling You to Be a Substitute
"The faces of the mother and child floated silently on the rippling water, their four eyes fixed on me..."
Bai Shengtian was so frightened that his mind went blank for a moment, and it took him a while to suddenly stand up from the bathtub.
The moment she stood up, as the water surface was disrupted, the faces of the two people disappeared as well.
"At the time, I really felt that I was under too much pressure, working too much overtime, and that I was having mental problems."
"Maybe those policemen were right, no one jumped into the river at all, it was all just my own hallucination."
"So after I finished working overtime that day, I went to the hospital for a check-up."
"I got some medication from the psychiatrist to treat anxiety and calm my emotions."
Bai Shengtian covered her face with both hands, and a muffled sound came from between her cheeks and palms.
"But it would have been better not to take those medications. After taking them, I saw that mother and child even more frequently."
Due to the effects of the medication, her sleep became increasingly light, she had many dreams at night, and she was easily startled awake.
Every time I wake up, the alarm clock on my bedside table is set to around 3 a.m.
She remembered that was the time she saw the mother and child jump into the river.
So much so that she feels a chill every time she wakes up from her sleep.
But because of the medication, she could always fall asleep again very quickly.
Everything changed after she finished a social engagement.
She woke up again around 3 a.m. because she had drunk too much beverage and got up to go to the bathroom.
In a daze, she pushed open the bathroom door and saw a woman standing in the corner of the bathroom.
The woman was wearing a nightgown dress, and her arms and legs were covered in bruises from being beaten.
He looked like he had just been pulled out of the water, dripping wet from head to toe.
"At the time, I thought it was just my own hallucination, so I forced myself not to look at it or think about it."
"And my method worked quickly; the woman indeed disappeared."
"But just as I finished using the toilet and was about to close the bathroom door..."
I was afraid of discovering a puddle of water in the corner.
"The restroom is dry everywhere, except for the spot where that woman just stood, where there's a puddle of water..."
Bai Shengtian realized at that time that what she was seeing might be more than just an illusion.
But because of her many years of faith, she was unwilling to believe that ghosts really existed.
However, just because she doesn't believe in it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
In the following days, she saw ghosts more and more often.
Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night and turn around to see the mother and son lying on the other half of the bed next to her.
Four eyes stared intently at her, and it's unclear how long they'd been watching her like that.
Therefore, she specially replaced the spacious double bed with a single bed.
But that wasn't the case at all; it just brought the mother and child ghosts closer to her.
"Not only that, I can also see them appearing wherever there is water."
"They can be found in the restrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and even the company's break room..."
Bai Shengtian tugged at his clothes.
"I have a pile of clothes that I took off, but I don't dare to turn on the washing machine to wash them."
Although she later remembered that she could take it to a laundry shop, that place also had water.
She saw a ghost again when she delivered the clothes, and although the laundry shop kept urging her to pick up the cleaned clothes, she still didn't dare to go and collect them.
"For more than ten days, my life and work have been ruined by that mother and son ghosts."
Several cases that had been agreed upon fell through because the clients doubted my mental state.
"My law firm director also suggested I take a break, but I know this isn't something that can be solved by simply resting..."
Bai Shengtian raised his head, his haggard face revealing eyes as bright as cold stars.
"I just can't understand why they've become so attached to me just because I wanted to help them out of kindness?"
"But what did I do wrong? I just felt sorry for them and wanted to help them!"
She was almost about to ask, "Why is it that good deeds don't always go unrewarded?"
But after thinking about it, I swallowed it anyway.
Unable to conceal the irritation between her brows, she took out cigarettes and a lighter from her bag.
Can I have a cigarette?
Chu Ci nodded, "Do as you please."
With a "whoosh," the cigarette was lit by a lighter, and the smell of tobacco spread through the air.
Bai Shengtian washed his eyes thoroughly before he felt the irritation in his heart subside somewhat.
She rubbed her face vigorously and looked at Chu Ci intently.
"I'm sorry, I apologize for the disrespect I showed you a few days ago."
"I shouldn't assume that things don't exist just because I'm not familiar with them in your field."
Her tone was sincere, but Chu Ci waved her hand.
"Need not."
When they met before, Bai Shengtian thought she was a fraud, but his attitude was not problematic.
In addition, she is an upright person and a rare good lawyer, so Chu Ci wanted to help her.
Chu Ci took a hair tie from the drawer. "Put your hair up first, then go wash your face. I want to take a good look at your face."
Bai Shengtian took the hair tie, but hesitated a bit when he reached the bathroom.
Chu Ci: "Don't be afraid, those things can't get into my shop."
Hearing her say that, Bai Shengtian's tense mood eased.
She tentatively opened the door and, sure enough, didn't see the things that were bothering her.
She combed her hair, washed her face, and came out looking much more refreshed.
Sitting in the psychic chair, she tucked the stray hairs on both sides behind her ears.
"Master, is this alright?"
"Can."
Chu Ci deliberately avoided looking into her eyes, refusing to use synesthesia to observe her life.
Focus all your attention on her face.
Strangely, apart from the dark spot between her eyebrows, everything else about her was normal.
Even if Bai Shengtian didn't come to find her today, she could still get through this ordeal with her strong luck and perseverance.
However, after that, their luck will decline and their physical condition will deteriorate significantly, but they will not lose their lives.
"That's strange."
Chu Ci pinched her chin and thought carefully under Bai Shengtian's uneasy gaze.
"You have no old grudges against that mother and son, you were just unlucky to run into them. But they've become attached to you..."
She pursed her lips. "Do you have anything else planned for today?"
Bai Shengtian shook his head. "I'm on vacation right now."
"That's perfect, you wait here while I close the shop."
"I'll go with you to the place where we met that mother and child. If everything is alright, we can send them away."
After Chu Ci finished speaking, she was about to stand up when she saw Bai Shengtian frowning, hesitating to speak.
"Anything else?"
Bai Shengtian looked up at her and asked, "What is your appearance fee? I'd like to ask you for help."
This was the first time Chu Ci had ever heard someone ask her such a question, and considering that the person in front of her was certainly not short of money.
She held up one hand. "Five hundred."
"Then I'd like to hire you for a week."
Bai Shengtian spoke earnestly.
"If you resolve this within a week, I'll give you four thousand yuan."
"If it can't be resolved in a week, I'll still charge you 500 a day, okay?"
Now it was Chu Ci's turn to frown.
What do you want to do?
Bai Shengtian pursed his lips, his eyes, bright as cold stars, looking at her.
"I want to help that mother and child."
"When I was a child, I heard from the elders that a person will remain in the same state as when they died, and will continue to suffer the torment of that time."
"The mother and child were covered in injuries and were wandering the deserted streets in the middle of the night. They must have suffered a great injustice before they died."
"I want to find out the cause of their deaths and help them."
Chu Ci opened her mouth slightly, staring blankly at her.
After a long pause, he asked, "They've done this to you, and you still want to help them?"
Bai Shengtian gave a bitter smile.
"For the past few days, I've been too busy being scared."
"Now that I think about it, if they wanted to kill me, they would have done it long ago."
"If you keep bothering me like this, you must want my help with something."
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow. "What if they don't want to kill you, but simply can't?"
Bai Shengtian remained silent for a moment before replying in a deep voice:
"Then I'd also like to ask them if they've been wronged in any way."
She sat at the table, her clothes wrinkled and greasy.
Yet it exudes an aura of righteousness.
Chu Ci looked at her and suddenly thought of a meddlesome acquaintance she used to know.
She smiled when she met Bai Shengtian's determined eyes.
"Okay, I promise you. Let's set off when it gets dark."
But to avoid any ill intentions from the mother and child ghosts, she still brought along the underworld pistol that had no bullets.
At midnight, Bai Shengtian drove her to the place where he had met the mother and son.
"This is it."
Bai Shengtian parked the car on the side of the road and pointed to the corner not far away across the street.
"I met them here, around 3 a.m.
She was just about to suggest that Chu Ci wait with her when she saw Chu Ci open the car door and get out.
She quickly followed, "Master, where are you going?"
Chu Ci pointed to a cluster of residential buildings not far away, "Over there, the mother and child ghosts should be over there."
Upon hearing this, Bai Shengtian quickly pulled out his car keys and followed.
Chu Ci followed the black mist on the ground all the way to the entrance of an apartment building, where the black mist disappeared.
People come and go at the entrance of the apartment building; the yang energy is too strong, and the remaining yin energy simply cannot be retained.
She led Bai Shengtian upstairs, but the yang energy in the building was too strong, and she still couldn't see whose mother and child they were.
Bai Shengtian offered, "I can have someone check. If someone has passed away, it should be easy to find out."
Chu Ci stood downstairs, shaking his head as he looked at the building where all the lights had gone out, and sighed:
“If it’s a normal funeral, then it should be traceable. The problem is that the deceased’s family might not report it.”
Bai Shengtian also realized this, and his expression gradually turned ugly.
If that's the case, then they won't be able to find anyone at all.
Chu Ci: "Let's wait until five or six in the morning, until everyone in the residential building comes out, and then come over to ask."
If you can't find out the details, it means the deceased's family is indeed keeping it a secret.
Since they couldn't find a breakthrough on the human side, they had no choice but to target the ghosts.
After leaving the residential area, Bai Shengtian took her to the pond where the mother and child had jumped into the river.
As soon as the two stood by the pond, a beam of flashlight shone from afar.
An old but powerful voice suddenly boomed out:
What are you doing?!
Chu Ci and Bai Shengtian were startled and turned to look, but the light from the flashlight blinded them.
Once the person walked in, the flashlight beam was moved away, and they could see that the person was a middle-aged man in a security guard uniform.
The security guard rushed over, glaring at them fiercely.
"What are you two young girls doing here so late at night!"
"I didn't know that someone had drowned in this water not long ago!"
"Standing so close, if you fall, no one will save you! Come over here right now!"
His voice was stern, but his intentions were good.
Chu Ci asked with a smile, "Uncle, you said someone drowned a while ago, when was that?"
"You haven't heard about this?"
The security guard saw the two girls honestly shake their heads, sighed, and led them away from the pond.
"Not long ago, about half a month ago."
"A young mother had a moment of despair in the middle of the night and jumped off the cliff with her child in her arms."
Chu Ci and Bai Shengtian exchanged a glance.
Found it!
Bai Shengtian asked, "Uncle, do you know where that mother and child live?"
"How would I know? Even the police don't know, how could I possibly know?"
The security guard pointed to the pond not far away.
"It's been half a month, and the police still haven't found the identities of the mother and child."
"Originally, after the reporter's report, the police were very proactive."
"But there are new things every day. If the news reports something interesting, people will go and pay attention to other things."
"Without public oversight, and given the difficulty in locating them, the police have stopped taking action."
The security guard shrugged, "So many days have passed, and there's been absolutely no progress in the case."
Bai Shengtian said regretfully, "I see."
But at least they now know why that mother and child jumped into the river.
Conversely, the fact that the police couldn't find information about the mother and child meant that the deceased's family hadn't reported it.
If it wasn't reported, you probably wouldn't find out anything even if you asked around in the residential buildings.
The trail ends here.
After saying goodbye to the security guard, the two returned to the car and remained silent for a moment.
Finally, the two returned to the place where Bai Shengtian had met the mother and child, intending to start their investigation from the ghost.
As they waited, the two of them fell asleep.
At exactly 3 a.m., the alarm clock that Bai Shengtian had prepared suddenly woke the two of them up.
"Time is up."
Bai Shengtian perked up and stared intently at the roadside across the street.
They waited for half an hour, their eyelids starting to droop, but the mother and child still didn't come.
Seeing that it was almost four o'clock, Chu Ci sighed.
"I guess we won't be able to wait until today. Let's go to the residential building around five or six o'clock."
"good."
Bai Shengtian drove his car to the residential buildings in the area, feeling dejected.
The two of them made do in the car all night, and were awakened by knocking on the window around 4 or 5 a.m.
A woman wearing an apron knocked on the car window and frowned as she looked at the two of them through the window.
Bai Shengtian rolled down the car window, and the woman wearing an apron pointed to the front of the car:
"Miss, your car is blocking our breakfast stall. Could you please park somewhere else?"
Bai Shengtian said "Oh" and drove the car to a secluded corner.
Turning his head, he saw Chu Ci staring intently at the breakfast stall where tables were being set up.
She followed Chu Ci's gaze and saw the couple who sold breakfast carrying things out.
The apartment building they were going in and out of was the same one they had visited before!
"master!"
She excitedly nudged Chu Ci's hand.
Chu Ci nodded. "Let's go ask them after they set up their stall."
The young couple set up the table and chairs and began making fish balls as dawn broke.
Chu Ci and Bai Shengtian walked over and sat down, saying something to the proprietress.
"I'd like some fish balls."
When the proprietress saw that it was the two of them, she smiled and replied, "Okay."
The first batch of fish balls that were made was served to them.
There was no one around, so the proprietress chatted with the two of them:
"Miss, why are you out so early!"
"These days, very few young people can get up this early!"
Bai Shengtian was about to speak when Chu Ci lightly kicked her under the table.
He smiled and said to the landlady, "We're here to work, so we got up a little early."
The proprietress exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of job is this? Even earlier than our breakfast stalls?"
Chu Ci ate fish balls. "It's an organization that protects the rights of children and women. They usually mediate between couples and care about the children's growth."
She quickly finished one bowl and then asked for another.
When the proprietress brought it to her, she asked, seemingly casually:
"Boss lady, we recently received complaints from people in your building who said they kept hearing someone beating their wife and children."
"You also live in this building, have you heard children and women crying?"
The owner of the fish ball shop, who had been silent until then, snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"Of course I can hear them! That family lives right upstairs from me, how could I not hear them!"
He was full of resentment when he talked about this.
"The man in that family used to be a businessman, and I heard he made a lot of money."
"Later, the investment failed, and I lost all the money I had earned, plus a considerable amount of money."
"Now that he's moved here, he doesn't work and drinks every day, relying entirely on his wife's income to support him."
"That's not all, he also beats his wife and children, especially his son, he beats him really badly!"
The proprietress picked up the conversation, her face showing reluctance as she spoke of the child.
"Yes, I can hear his child crying every night."
"I heard that the year he failed in his investment was the same year his child was born, and because of this, he blamed his child for bringing him bad luck."
“He calls his own son a jinx, and he beats him to vent his anger when he’s not happy.”
"His child is already in elementary school, but he's timid and hesitant when he sees people; he doesn't even dare to look up!"
Seeing the two men's indignant expressions, Chu Ci pressed his advantage and asked:
"With that man acting like that, doesn't his wife leave with the children?"
"Oh dear, how do we get out of here!"
The proprietress shook her head like a rattle-drum.
"His wife's personality is like a fish ball, she can be kneaded, squeezed, and flattened at will."
"Whenever that man gets angry, she cries and apologizes, which spoils her husband and makes him act like a tyrant!"
"I remember once her husband hit her, and her son, not wanting her to be hit, tried to stop her husband, but she held him tightly."
"I heard that the two of them were both beaten and fractured by her husband, but they didn't have the money to go to the hospital."
"Now all the children walk with limpses!"
The fish ball vendor chimed in, "You can't say that. I think that woman changed her ways afterward!"
He looked at Chu Ci and the other person and said, "After the two of them were broken, the woman probably felt sorry for the child and suddenly realized something."
"She used to spoil her husband so much that he would do whatever he wanted and hand over all his money. Now that he's realized it, he knows how to save money."
"It seems like he was planning to hire a lawyer to file for divorce and fight for custody of the children a while ago!"
Upon hearing the word "lawyer," Bai Shengtian's hand trembled.
Follow-up question: "And then?"
The proprietress wiped the table. "A while ago, about half a month ago, that woman seemed to have suddenly left with her child."
"According to their neighbor, it seems that when the woman was beaten, she took her child and went to call the police."
"But perhaps the police didn't want to help her, so she eventually came back alone with the child."
"After that, the woman must have been disappointed, so she simply ran away with the child."
"Because of this, her husband has been grumbling and complaining for days!"
She pointed to the spot upstairs from her apartment, sneering and pursing her lips.
"Recently, that man brought home another woman. Judging from her personality, she's just like his ex-wife—soft-hearted."
"I reckon this woman is going to get beaten up too!"
Bai Shengtian didn't hear what the boss and his wife were saying.
She stared at the two round fish balls remaining in the bowl, her mind filled with a sharp ringing in her ears.
After Chu Ci finished eating and paid, the proprietress stopped her apologetically.
“Miss, my husband and I are telling you this because we can’t stand seeing that man upstairs beating women and children.”
She pointed to several tables on the stall.
“We’re just running a small business and don’t want to offend anyone, so please don’t reveal that it was us who said it.”
"Don't worry," Chu Ci nodded. "We won't tell anyone, and thank you for helping that mother and child."
"Oh dear, what kind of help is this?"
The proprietress waved her hand sheepishly and finally sighed.
"Fortunately, she ran away with her child. Her child was so young, and he walked with a limp, which was heartbreaking to see."
"Now that I'm away from that kind of trashy man who only knows how to hit and throw tantrums, I hope she can live a good life with her child."
Bai Shengtian opened his mouth, then slowly clenched his fist.
But the woman didn't leave with the child; she jumped into the river with the child.
Chu Ci pulled her towards the car, and seeing her dejected look, asked:
"What's wrong? We're about to uncover the truth, why aren't you happy?"
Bai Shengtian sat in the driver's seat, staring at the steering wheel with a vacant look in his eyes.
"She could have just escaped that man, why did she have to jump into the river with her child?"
Chu Ci paused in fastening her seatbelt. "You think she committed suicide?"
Bai Shengtian suddenly turned to look at her, "You don't think so?"
I don't think so.
Chu Ci gestured for her to drive towards the police station.
"If she had committed suicide, she should have asked you to be her substitute when you jumped into the water to save her and her child."
"But she didn't do that. She just kept bothering you, but she didn't harm you."
Now it was Bai Shengtian's turn to ask her a question.
"What if it's not that you don't want to harm me, but that you're incapable of doing so?"
Chu Ci smiled and said, "Then let's go to the police station and ask the forensic doctor."
-
After the couple selling fish balls downstairs finished their breakfast business, they remembered their first customer of the day.
The proprietress suddenly felt a bit scared.
Honey, do you think I shouldn't have talked so much with those two this morning?
"I saw them finish eating and leave, they didn't even come upstairs..."
Her husband put all the bowls into the basket without even looking up.
"So what? That man upstairs does nothing but beastly things, and he's afraid of what people will say?"
The proprietress said, "But that man is a scoundrel. What if he really comes looking for trouble with us..."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly saw the man's new girlfriend come out of the apartment building, and quickly shut her mouth.
He greeted her with a smile, "Miss, would you like some fish balls?"
"Um."
The man's new girlfriend nodded shyly, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth when she smiled.
"Do you have any fish balls? I'd like two servings."
"There's only one left..."
The man's new girlfriend looked disappointed. "Then we'll have one."
The proprietress was helping with packing when she suddenly heard the sound of a police siren approaching from afar.
Within ten seconds, two police cars pulled up near them.
The man's new girlfriend, carrying fish balls, didn't leave immediately but stopped in front of the stall to watch the excitement.
When they saw the police car approaching, passersby stopped.
"Who are the police here to arrest?"
"I don't know... Hey, did you see that? It's Inspector Ji from the Major Crimes Unit! Someone died here?"
"No, I haven't heard of that."
Ji Jingtong and Shen Zaikun quickly went upstairs, where layers of residents gathered to watch the commotion.
The proprietress and the man's new girlfriend also stood on tiptoe to watch the spectacle.
The man's new girlfriend was staring wide-eyed at the entrance of the apartment building when she suddenly saw her boyfriend come out.
She frowned, wondering why her boyfriend had gotten up so early today.
New girlfriend: "?!?!"
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